All Songs Considered

9:03 am

Thu October 31, 2013

James Vincent McMorrow, 'Cavalier'

James Vincent McMorrow first popped on our radar back in 2010, when he released his breathtakingly beautiful debut Early In The Morning, a collection of acoustic folk notable, in part, for McMorrow's remarkable voice. But it turns out McMorrow never really wanted to be a folk singer. His latest album, Post-Tropical, is a sultry, slinky R&B album, with drum machines and soul-inspired harmonies. Now comes a dark, sometimes unnerving new video for the album's first single, "Cavalier."

The video, conceived and directed by Aoife McArdle, follows a pretty hammered barfly as he stumbles and bumbles his way through a club, hitting on the women, snorting drugs, and starting arguments. It's clear from the onset that this guy has issues, and as the story lurches forward, he becomes increasingly unhinged.

"My hope with the video was that it would add another dimension to the song," McMorrow tells us via email. "This record is the most beautiful thing I could imagine making. I don't mean that in some intangible or pretentious way. I mean I heard something in my head — the texture, the rhythm, the melody — and I pursued it until it existed. I wanted to push myself as a musician in a way I've never pushed myself before."